The word 'equity' is being bandied about a lot these days. Equity this, equity that; everything and everyone must be treated fairly, impartially. Oh, if it were only true in nature, where things are rarely equal and certainly not impartial. Growing up on the Chesapeake Bay, equity, impartiality, were not a part of day-to-day reality; people didn't spend much time pining for equity.
People did spend considerable time, however, trying to be the best at what they did. 'Excellence': the best crab picker, the fastest oyster shucker. Hell, a star quilter was held in near royal awe. Known up and down the shore, back then the best of these quilt makers were treated like rock stars, their one-of-a-kind creations true works of durable warming art. I heard the ladies (mostly mature ones) talking about preserving, darning, crocheting, canning - all done with a desire to be the best one around. Sure, there was healthy competitive boosting, but mostly the excellence was a quiet kind.
Most people understood the principle of, 'good in, good out'. 'No work, no eat' was ingrained from childhood. The rules for living may have seemed harsh to some outsiders; but to the community on the Chesapeake Bay they were no more harsh than the pressure placed on a daffodil pushing up through Spring soil.
Those who sought a sameness of outcome were usually attempting to get something for little or nothing. Nature didn't work that way, and nature was everything. Christ is nature: only the best will do. Bring your best to the Bay - bring your Bible
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